Twins Sign Former Top Five Mariners Prospect, Outfielder Braden Bishop, To Minor League Deal And Assign Him to St. Paul

COLUMBUS, OH (June 18, 2022) - The St. Paul Saints are getting an outfielder that hit .326 at Triple-A just a season ago. The Minnesota Twins signed a former top five prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization, Braden Bishop, to a Minor League deal and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul.

The 28-year-old Bishop was in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization this year at Triple-A Reno. He was hitting .232 with two homers and 11 RBI in 37 games. In 138 at bats he scored 19 runs, had three doubles, one triple, a .312 on base percentage, and .312 slugging percentage.

Bishop was a third-round pick by the Mariners in 2015 out of the University of Washington. In his first professional season that year he finished second in batting average (.320), tied for eighth in hits (70), and ninth in on base percentage (.367) in the Low-A Northwest League with Everett. He was selected as a Post-Season Northwest League All-Star and an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star.

In 2016, Bishop split time between Single-A Clinton and High-A Bakersfield. He hit .273 with three homers and 43 RBI in 104 games. In 414 at bats he scored 57 runs, slugged 11 doubles, one triple, a .338 on base percentage, and .326 slugging percentage. Following the season, he was rated the Mariners number six prospect by MLB Pipeline.

He built upon his 2016 success with an All-Star caliber season in 2017. In 88 games at High-A Modesto, Bishop hit .296 with two homers and 32 RBI. In 88 games he scored 71 runs, clobbered 25 doubles, three triples, swiped 16 bases, a .385 on base percentage, and .400 slugging percentage. He was chosen as a California League All-Star and was selected as the MVP of the game going 4-4 with a double, triple, two stolen bases, and three runs scored. He earned a call up to Double-A Arkansas where he hit .336 with one home run and 11 RBI in 31 games. Following the season Bishop was chosen as an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star.

Bishop spent the entire 2018 season at Double-A Arkansas and hit .284 with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 84 games. In 345 at bats he scored 70 runs, smacked 20 doubles, a .361 on base percentage, and a .412 slugging percentage.

In 2019, Bishop got his first taste of the Major Leagues being named to the Opening Day roster. He made his Major League debut as a defensive replacement for Ichiro Suzuki in his final Major League game on March 21 at the Tokyo Dome. Bishop hit .107 with four RBI in 27 games. He bounced back-and-forth between Triple-A Tacoma and the Mariners, but missed more than two months of the season with a lacerated spleen.

During the pandemic shortened season, Bishop played 12 games for the Mariners collecting seven hits in 30 at bats.

Bishop began the 2021 season with Mariners organization and after playing eight games for the Mariners and four games for Tacoma, he was designated for assignment on May 13 and claimed by the San Francisco Giants.

The Saints roster stands at the maximum 33 players, 20 pitchers and 13 position players.